Dud of the Day April 23, 2007

Today's dud of the day is brought to you by Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez had an awful game tonight vs. the Devil Rays. He only went 4 for 5 tonight with 2 homeruns and 3 RBIs. The bum only brought his total up to 14 homeruns this season...in 17 games. For those of you counting at home, that's RBI number 32, 33 and 34. Absolutely insane.

Closer Alert - Texas Rangers

Seriously, did anyone see this coming? Eric Gagne (a.k.a. Mr. Endurance) is once again injured. This would be a great time to pick up Akinori Otsuka if he is not already owned in your league. Chances are someone probably still has him from the last time Gagne was injured (which was about 12 hours ago). If your league counts holds there is

absolutely no reason to drop Otsuka considering he may see more saves than Gagne this season.

Fantasy Studs of the Week April 16th - April 22nd

This week isn't particularly tough to pick out the fantasy studs of the week. For those of you in 5x5 leagues, your stud of the week (again) was A-Rod. A-Rod amassed a very nice 9 runs, 10 hits, 5 homeruns, 13 RBIs, and a .370 average. It seems A-Rod has money on the mind and won't let any pitcher stand between him and a nice new huge contract.

If you're in an expanded format, your fantasy stud of the week was Carlos Beltran. While Beltran didn't exactly match A-Rod's core numbers, he made up for it with his across the board stats. Beltran had a week of 7 runs, 5 singles, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homeruns, 9 RBIs, 2 stolen bases, and 2 walks. If you're in a head to head league (like I am) and played against Beltran (like I did) you probably found yourself on the losing end (like I did). He was certainly versatile last week.

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Players to Watch April 23, 2007

J.J. Hardy (.290, 5 HR, 12 RBI) had an absolutely amazing week last week (.281, 4 HR, 8 RBI). This may be Hardy's breakout year considering he is still a young guy (25 this year). Hardy is a very big gamble for the upcoming week, facing some talented Cubs pitching and finishing it up facing the Astros. When hardy faces the Cubs he will have Zambrano, Hill and Lilly on the mound. Zambrano has gotten absolutely shelled this season (maybe because Dusty Baker absolutely killed him the last few years?). Hill and Lilly have thrown extremely well, but they can't keep that up forever. Hopefully Hardy can salvage a few hits against the Cubs and hit up the Astros.

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Solid Pickups for the Week of April 23, 2007

This week's solid pickups bring you two pitchers and two hitters to look at. The first pitcher, Bartolo Colon (1-0, 1.29 ERA, 1.00 K/BB Ratio) is more of a solid season pickup. Coming out of spring training there were questions about his velocity, questioning if he would be the same pitcher he was in prior years. He completely shut down a decent hitting Seattle squad. While I don't find this to be a huge test, Colon still looked solid out on the mound. I wouldn't expect too many CGs if that's a category in your league, they'll probably keep his pitch count low for the first few starts (only 77 pitches last night). He should be able to raise his K level and get you a few wins. He is still available in a lot of leagues, get him now.

The availability of John Maine (2-0, 1.93 ERA, 1.42 K/BB Ratio) in some leagues still confuses me. Maine has looked amazing in his first 3 starts getting his owners 2 wins while only giving up 4 runs in his 18.2 innings pitched. His worst start by far was against the Phillies when he only lasted 4 2/3 innings. Maine is another solid season pick up, but a great pick up this week for sure. Maine is still available in over 1/2 the leagues out there and I strongly suggest him. This week he is a two start guy that plays at home against Colorado and away at Washington. He won't face stiff competition in either start matching up against Taylor Buchholz and Matt Chico (neither one with an ERA below 5.00). The Mets also supply plenty of runs for any of their pitchers.

Shawn Green (.338, 3 HR, 10 RBI) is off to a decent start in 5x5 formats. Green will face some considerably week pitching this week and should keep up his decent performances if you're looking for a replacement outfielder. Green faces the Rockies and the Nationals this week. If by some chance Green struggles against the Rockies, you can be sure he will make up for it later in the week facing the minor league pitchers the Nationals offer.

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